welcome to world news tonight the deep freeze and the death toll mounting a trk k sliding off a bridge the rescue efforts that followed. the passengers who slept on the plane stuck in dallas. travel paralyzed and hardly over. the extreme weather team on what's coming next. under the microscope, what we learned about the police officer caught on tape, opening fire on a mother racing away in her mini van, five children inside. the letter to mom, a daughter missing for months, a mother's emotional plea, why the authsay authorities say

they believe she's in serious danger. and the real cabin fever, the warning this holiday travel season when the stranger fall as sleep in your lap, when somebody sneezes behind you, how likely are you to get sick, too. good evening. thanks for being here on a saturday night, does this look like texas behind me. a frozen highway, the big rigs at a stand still, a deadly ice storm now grows in scope. more than two dozen states under watches and warnings, look at this, this suv crushed when limbs came crashing down in texas. in tennessee, the teams doing deicing working around the clock before takeoff at memphis. plunging temperatures in the west, in california just look at the icicles hanging from the oranges. this gentleman from oregon bundled up, cheeks red from the cold and snow. tonight two more giant storm systems brewing, the dallas airport one of many, hundreds of cancellations there. we begin with abc's steve osunsami and the nightmare for millions of drivers tonight.

>> reporter: in the north, it wasn't ice, it was snow. from chicago to upstate new york. this large delivery truck in pennsylvania, no match for the storm and the slick roads. >> several spots where it changes, you get rain a little bit, then sleet. then you get snow. >> reporter: in texas, a driver was killed when this pickup truck slid off an icy bridge on i-35, and fell into the water below. >> i-35 in denton is treacherous. >> reporter: in the dallas area, nearly 120,000 people still without power. out of state utility crews, who rushed to arkansas and tennessee, on their way to texas tonight to help out. in little rock today postal carrier johnny richardson needed steal cleats on his shoes and chains on the tires. >> rain, sleet or snow, mail got to go. >> reporter: people were walking to work. they told us it felt safer than driving. >> on the back roads and neighborhoods, it's bad. nobody was driving that

yesterday. >> reporter: and it's not over yet. out west, a new storm moving over parts of eight western states. this picture from central california, it was so cold, the drip lines meant to keep the fruit alive froze over. the big problem for cities like little rock, the ice that made the roads dangerous, it looks like snow. but it is definitely hard as ice. and with temperatures not expected to rise much above 30 degrees over the next few days, it could be here for some time. david. >> what a scene, steve. thank you. to the scene playing out at dallas airport. the weather so bad, passengers slept on a parked plane overnight. tonight many still sitting in the terminals, hundreds of cancellations, as we're on the air. mike boettcher is right there. >> reporter: at the dallas ft. worth airport more than 3,000 passengers stranded overnight. terminals packed with passengers sleeping on cots or anywhere they could.

the airport trying to make the best out of 400 flight cancellations. bringing in entertainment. one woman drawing pictures of passengers trying to bring smiles to the unlucky strangers. >> we are doing caricatures, entertaining while they are waiting for their flight. >> reporter: outside terminals, firemen knocking ice off the roof so it doesn't fall on passengers. on the runways an incoming flight stuck in the ice caught after making a turn on the taxi way. a qantas flight scheduled to leave last night never took off. some passengers spending the night on the plane. that flight scheduled to take off tonight, some 24 hours later. there are long lines like this one in every terminal at this airport. even though flights are beginning to leave again, it's going to take a couple days to relieve this backlog. david. >> what a mess in dallas, thanks to mike boettcher, let's bring in our meteorologist jeff smith who tracked it all in the weather center. you were telling me a major

storm on the east coast. going to make for a dangerous sunday. >> let's go right to the maps. we have snow that will be breaking out in the washington d.c. area late tomorrow morning, this goes to an icy mix especially west of d.c., western virginia. this could be a major ice storm up to a half inch. monday at 11:00 any snow has turned to rain, but the northern and western suburbs could have a slippery commute. >> very cold temperatures tonight. >> just like the past couple weeks, we're talking 10 to 35 degrees below normal. check oumt these lows overnight. north dakota getting down to 25 below, subfreezing air all the way down to the piedmont, to the carolinas, 42 in los angeles. >> the west coast as you pointed out not in the clear. >> another storm moving in will create snow in the four corners region especially west of denver, up to a foot at aspen. snow in flagstaff, arizona and the cold air mass in southern california.

>> meteorologist jeff smith with us tonight. jeff, thank you. we turn to a breakthrough in the all out effort to get an american veteran of the korean war free. the north koreans have taken custody of the 85-year-old grandfather, his family pleading for his release. the state department joining in. tonight merrill newman is home. you can see the crowd surrounding him as he landed in california. abc's aditi roy tonight, from los angeles. >> reporter: merrill newman is home and free. >> good morning. i'm delighted to be home. >> reporter: the 85-year-old grandfather is back on american soil. just in time for the holidays, after being detained for 42 days in north korea. the retired finance executive was in the country for a ten day sight seeing trip but was pulled from his flight home by government officials held for hostile acts he allegedly committed there 60 years ago in the korean war. he apologized in this video confession released by the north korean government. >> there is misleading information and propaganda. >> reporter: throughout his

captivity his family in california has pleaded for his safe return. sending him medication for a heart condition. >> we just hope whatever that misunderstanding is, it will be resolved. very quickly. and that he can return and be at our table for the holidays. >> reporter: in the end, north korea state run news agency said he was deported because of his health problems along with that apology. while this story has a happy ending, the u.s. is calling on north korea to release another american, kenneth bae who has been detained in north korea for more than a year. david. >> aditi, thank you. from south africa tonight we're hearing from nelson mandela's family for the first time now saying these last few days have not been easy. they know there are more difficult days ahead. they added they are humbled by the messages of condolence and support. tonight we learned more about the american presidents, who will travel to south africa. of course, president obama will be among the mourners along with mrs. obama who met mandela shortly after becoming first lady.

president bush and laura bush have been invited to travel with the obamas, and former president clinton and hillary clinton will travel to the tribute for nelson mandela. from south africa we hear from one of his friends who described those final visits with the man he revered. abc's byron pitts from outside mandela's home. >> reporter: nowhere has admiration for nelson mandela been stronger, expressed more passionately than a few feet from his doorstep outside his home where the beloved statesman took his last breath. >> by singing and dancing, it's a way of showing our appreciation. >> he represents this country. >> reporter: nelson mandela will be laid to rest in grand style. tuesday, a memorial service ke the world has never seen.

some 95,000 people packed inside the stadium. wednesday through friday the former president will lay in state in pretoria, the nation's legislative capital. next sunday mandela will be laid to rest in the small village of his boyhood on the eastern cape. those closest to mandela say they will miss the simple things. >> you first met mandela when? >> 1948. and friends ever since. >> reporter: 85-year-old george bezos was one of mandela's closest friends and his lawyer. he remembers his friend's consideration even at the hospital these last months. >> he said, george, make sure you take your jacket with you, don't leave it behind. now, for a man who was critically ill, to be concerned about my jacket says something about this man. >> reporter: in the last several months of his life, a number of families squabbles were made public, what to do with his

money to where he should be buried. since his death, the family has thrown a united public front spoken with one voice. mandela's friends told us that would have pleased him to no end. >> back here at home tonight in new mexico now, to a case that captured national headlines because of a dramatic shootout caught on a police dash cam. you may remember these images, a police officer opening fire on a mini van, a mother racing away with five children inside. tonight that officer has been fired. here's abc's reena ninan. >> reporter: officer montoya seen here shooting three times into a van of children, now fired for his actions. >> based on the information that we have, there is nothing to suggest they had justification to fire upon the car. >> reporter: it all began at a routine traffic stop, when 39-year-old from tennessee was

pulled over for speeding. >> you were doing 71 in a 55. turn the vehicle off for me. >> reporter: according to police, she did not follow orders, and instead takes off with her five children setting off on a half mile chase. police stop her again. now for a second time. the situation increasingly more intense. watch as a 14-year-old son gets involved, running back to lock the doors. >> open the door. open the door. >> reporter: police officers smash the side window and she flees again. eventually she pulls over, and she and her son are arrested. officer montoya was part of the new mexico police force for 12 years, he has 30 days to appeal. we don't know if he will. >> thank you. and from new hampshire, troubling new clue in the national search for a missing teenager, 15-year-old abigail hernandez disappearing nearly two months ago. her mother going before cameras

with her emotional pleas, tonight police revealed the mother received a letter believed to be from the daughter, authorities are concerned by what's in it. here's abc's linzie janis. >> 15-year-old abigail hernandez mysteriously disappeared on her way home from school two months ago. but tonight, police are revealing a critical lead in the case. a letter they say the new hampshire teen sent to her mother two weeks after she went missing. >> the reason we are announcing today that we have it, is because law enforcement had to take every possible step to verify its authenticity. and at this juncture, we believe that it was in fact written by abby and was sent to her mother. >> reporter: the letter was postmarked october 23rd. but didn't reach abby's mother until november 6th. an fbi investigator working on the case says receiving the letter is unprecedented saying he hasn't seen anything like this in recent investigations.

he is hopeful she's alive, but says, she could be in grave danger. >> other cases, that we have investigated across the country tell us that one in eight of endangered run aways could be forced into some kind of sexual exploitation, after a situation like this has occurred. >> reporter: although there is a possibility abby left willingly, investigators say it's likely she's being coerced by someone. the letter is the only trace of abigail, her cell phone hasn't been used since the day she disappeared. >> we truly miss you. >> reporter: the letter is the only trace of abigail, her cell phone hasn't been used since the day she disappeared. >> linzie janis back on the case again. thank you. from washington tonight, they are turning to the holiday ahead now, last night the first family flipping the famous switch. tonight what we learned about when it all started and the years when the lighting of the national tree carried profound emotion with it. president obama his growing daughters by his side and that tradition lighting up the national christmas tree before

the weekend started. >> five, four, three, two, one. whoo! >> up on stage first lady michelle obama, too. aretha franklin performed. ♪ joy to the world ♪ the lord has come >> mrs. obama and the muppets. >> you ready? >> yes. >> are you all ready? >> reading the night before christmas. and mariah carey there, too. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> a tradition, the first national christmas tree lit by calvin coolidge in 1923. the first president to flip the switch, black and white there, but trust us, 2500 red, white and green bulbs. this tree lit in 1940 by fdr. the washington monument right there behind it.

and it was 50 years ago after the death of president kennedy, the lighting ceremony postponed until late december. president lbj saying today we come to the end of a season of great national sorrow and beginning of the season of great eternal joy. and like so many americans in 2007, the first christmas tree in led lights to make it more energy efficient. and this year, the most energy coming from those little dancers, one of them president obama tried to keep up with. giant smile the moment he gives up. leaving the troeft her. there's a reason they call it cabin fever, tonight we ask how likely to get sick when the passenger beside you sneezes, a travel warning coming up here. and later tonight taking aim, the young girls across america, out to prove they have a great shot, too. matching jennifer lawrence, we're back in two minutes. ♪

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with the holiday travel season in full swing, we have all wondered before on planes, when someone sneezes beside you or behind you, what's the chances you'll sneeze, too. abcs david wright with tips to protect yourself. >> reporter: it's an inescapable fact one of the busiest travel times of the year also happens to be cold and flu season. studies show travelers are at higher risk, as much as 20% more likely to catch something. although not necessarily on the plane itself, surprisingly the cabin air is cleaner than what you'll find in most office buildings. because it's circulated through hospital grade filters. but airplanes are still pretty germy environments. according to the centers for disease control the hot zone includes the row in front of you, the row behind you, and all of these areas here. the tray table, the seat pocket. anywhere likely to have caught a sneeze.

the airport with those crowded ticket counters, tsa check points and food courts is an even bigger place for disease. no air filters there, but plenty of coughs and sneezes. >> the best way to stay healthy, keep your hands clean. when you're traveling, that's an alcohol sanitizer. >> reporter: a single sneeze produces 30,000 droplets, that can spread as far as six feet. not exactly anyone's idea of spreading holiday cheer. david wright, abc news, los angeles. >> all right. thanks to david tonight. when we come back, something in this photo of duchess kate, something she's wearing, apparently a real steal, and what we learned about it today. there, i said it. . see, i knew testosterone could affect sex drive, but not energy or even my mood. that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% testosterone gel.

the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breast-feeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%.

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at our instant index what's trending this saturday, we take note of the anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor, 72 years ago the japanese air assault on hawaii, taking the lives of 2400 american servicemen. today visitors watched an aerial show of vintage world war ii planes among them 50 survivors right here of that fateful day. next tonight, to another headline trending, a potential holiday windfall on the way, the jackpot in the megamillions lottery, $344 million for tuesday's drawing. the biggest this year. don't throw out last night's ticket, four tickets worth 1 million each sold at illinois, michigan, ohio and washington. and showing you don't have to spend a million to look like a million. look at kate, duchess of cambridge with a necklace not from the royal collection instead 35 bucks, that necklace already sold out, though.

when we come back on world news tonight taking aim, the young girls across america tonight out to prove their shot is as good as the one on the silver screen. what's driving the big comeback for an age old sport in america? d to give it my best shot. these days i'm living with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. at first, i took warfarin, but i wondered, "could i up my game?" my doctor told me about eliquis. and three important reasons to take eliquis instead. one, in a clinical trial, eliquis was proven to reduce the risk of stroke better than warfarin. two, eliquis had less major bleeding than warfarin. and three... unlike warfarin, there's no routine blood testing. [ male announcer ] don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily

and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. i've got three important reasons to up my game with eliquis. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor today if eliquis is right for you. hands for holding. feet, kicking. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start taking xeljanz if you have any kind of infection,

unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels he e happened. your docr should perform blood tests, including certain liver tests, before you start and while you are taking xeljanz. tell your doctor if you have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, and if you are pregnant, or plan to be. taken twice daily, xeljanz can reduce the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe ra, even without methotrexate. ask if xeljanz is right for you. finally tonight, girls across america on target to be as tough as the star they have

been seeing on the big screen. they are aiming for the bullseye tonight. and right there with them, abcs sarah haynes. >> reporter: the new hunger games hasn't just set the box office on fire. it's made a star of an ancient and let's face it obscure sport. jennifer lawrence and her fearless character inspiring an army of tiny followers. >> do you see people come in here that say i want to learn to be katniss. >> absolutely. >> reporter: derek dave sis an archery coach, his phone has been ringing off the hook. it's not just hunger games. this young girl saw rave and dropped her stuffed animals for an archery set. i am meredith. and i will be shooting from my own hand. >> i think seeing a female character use a bow and arrow was really exciting. >> reporter: girls from all around the country telling us -- >> after reading hungser games and watching the movie, i really want to learn archery.

>> i like archery, it builds my strength. >> i want to shoot a bow like katniss. >> reporter: we went to a range and store where the owners say they can't keep up with demand. >> do your friends call you katniss. >> yes. >> do you love that. >> yes. >> reporter: coach davis says the sport is a safe one and has seen other benefits. >> confidence improves. the focus tends to help them in their academics as well. it's about what's inside of you. you know, not how strong you are, not how fast you are. >> i feel calm when i shoot, i just focus in on just the target. >> sarah haynes, abc news, saddlebrooke, new jersey. pretty mean shot there sarah. good morning america first thing in the morning. i'll see you back here tomorrow night. great to be back with you on a saturday night. have a good evening. good night.

>> the following program is sponsored by operation smile. >> every year, hundreds of thousands of children are born with cleft lip and or cleft palate. >> dr. bill magee: why shld any child anywhere on this planet have to live a life of misery? >> kathy majette: a lot of people think that children that are born with these deformities are cursed. just imagine a life alone that nobody wanteto be around you. >> norrie oelkers: and we had children coming in for screening with brown bags over their head. they're never allowed to leave their house unless they have a bag on theheir heads. >> kathy majette: some children don't live because they have problems with eating, and drinking, and then die of malnuttion. >> mel: and they see us as their last resort. >> dr. jill gora: every child deserves a fair chance at life.